“We wanted to change the way of receiving payments, which for 60 years has depended on the card system”

The percentage of the adult population using credit cards in Latin America varies among countries but is generally low compared to other markets. For example, in Mexico, the penetration of this means of payment is only 12%, according to official data. However, the payment alternatives enabled by fintechs are experiencing remarkable growth. 77% of consumers already pay with digital media in Latin America, while mobile payments grew from 6% to 10% as the preferred payment method between 2021 and 2023. This posed a challenge for a sector so closely linked to credit cards, such as payments from individuals to businesses. It was also an opportunity for those who knew how to recognise it

DRUO is a payment platform that allows companies to receive transactions directly from their customers bank accounts, eliminating costly and complex intermediaries. The company was founded at the end of 2021 and launched in 2022 by Colombian entrepreneurs Alejandro Pinzón and Simón Pinilla and, after a rapid growth that has led them to double the value of transactions processed over the last year, it already has a presence in Colombia, Mexico, Peru and the United States and is preparing to make the leap to Europe and Brazil. In this interview, Pinilla shares his vision as co-founder of DRUO, about to celebrate the third anniversary of the company’s founding.

How did the idea behind DRUO come about? What were the company’s beginnings like and how has it evolved to what it is today?

The idea behind DRUO came from the combination of Alejandro’s experience building global technology companies and products and my experience launching and growing technology companies in the region. In fact, we met while expanding a European card payment company in Colombia. For us, it was unbelievable that moving money from one point to another required so many intermediaries and generated so much complexity and cost for companies, in addition to excluding millions of users. That’s when we started thinking that the card-based payment system needed to change to something much simpler and more user-friendly. This is how we began building the product, to validate if the problem was real and if the solution we envisioned was what the market needed. In a short time, we were able to acquire our first customers and process our first millions of dollars, confirming that DRUO was the solution that companies needed.

Its platform allows companies to collect and send payments directly to bank accounts at any time. What specific problem did you want to solve in the financial ecosystem?

Card payment systems are not only costly for companies (they can account for 3% and 5% of costs for the company), but they also limit service coverage, especially in emerging markets such as those in Latin America where only 15% of the adult population has a card. On the other hand, payment systems via wire transfer tend to require several steps and generate a lot of friction for the end user, which affects the payment conversion rate. Finally, international transfers depend on traditional systems that are complex, slow and difficult to access. DRUO comes to simplify these processes, by creating a network of bank accounts accessible to any company that needs to receive payments and offering a customisable platform with multiple products to automate collection, reduce costs and improve the end-user experience.

DRUO promises faster, safer and cheaper transactions than other traditional methods. How did you manage to reduce the transactional cost by 50%?

By reducing intermediaries, the cost to be paid to each intermediary is eliminated and the end-to-end visibility of each transaction is increased, from the account holder to the merchant who will receive the payment. This allows real-time monitoring rules to be established and significantly increases the security of all transactions.

What improvements does this bring for the end user? What technologies do you use to ensure these improvements?

We enable companies to offer a simpler checkout experience to their users, reducing the number of steps and therefore increasing conversion rates. Companies can offer scheduled payments or one-click payments. The customer only has to confirm the transaction and thus avoids the additional steps typical of other payment methods, such as accessing banking portals. We achieve this thanks to two key aspects: our technology, which is highly customisable for each company, and our security system. This system tokenises all the information that travels through our platform, validates the accounts enabled for collection and monitors transactions in real time through machine learning algorithms. This has allowed us to process millions of dollars without losses due to fraud.

One of DRUO’s differentiating values the customisation of the payment experience for businesses. How do you facilitate the adaptation of your platform for different brands and what benefits have you observed?

Since our launch, we knew that the problem was cross-industry, so we developed adaptable products: from non-integrated commerce portals to the creation of payment links and buttons or connections to an API that operates in real time. This has allowed our clients not only to reduce collection costs by up to 50% and increase conversion rates by up to 30%, but also to fully automate their collection flows, significantly reducing operational costs.

This is currently present in Colombia, Mexico, Peru and the United States. What is DRUO’s international expansion strategy?

In just two years, we were able to expand rapidly thanks to a scalable product and a team with experience in multiple markets. The problem we are solving does not only exist in Latin America but affects companies all over the world. We want to change the traditional way of receiving payments, which for more than 60 years has depended on card payment systems.

How have you raised the necessary funding to grow?

DRUO started with bootstrapping, that is, without external investment and only with the capital contributions that Alejandro and I made. In 2023, after a successful year, we decided to accelerate our expansion with external funding, mainly from private equity funds in the United States. This allowed us to launch in Peru and Mexico and grow our business sixfold. In 2024, we brought in new investors from Colombia and Mexico, which allowed us to consolidate our operations in Latin America and initiate them in the United States, achieving a three-fold increase in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2023.

What advantages does having an entity like BBVA Spark as a partner bring to projects like yours?

The impact of having the support of a bank like BBVA can be a differentiating factor for many startups and entrepreneurs in Latin America. In our case, BBVA has been a crucial regional (soon to be global) ally, accompanying us in our operations in Colombia, Peru, Mexico and soon Europe. All of this has been made possible thanks to BBVA Spark. In addition, BBVA Spark has been an active promoter of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Latin America, not only with products designed for startups but also by creating networking and collaboration opportunities between entrepreneurs and other key players such as investors and traditional players, which generates a great impact on the entire ecosystem in the region.

Can you share some figures about the company’s growth? Are you planning new features?

In the second quarter of 2024, we achieved a 99% increase in processed volume and a 77% increase in gross revenue compared to the first quarter of the same year. During the third quarter, we surpassed 100 million dollars (approximately 94 million euros) processed since our launch. We continue to enhance our features, including an easily integrable payment button, international collections and scheduled payments.

What advice would you give to an entrepreneur who wants to launch or scale their own project?

First, don’t overthink it. Sometimes we want to be 100% certain of the outcome before making a decision, and unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) in the world of entrepreneurship there is always the risk that things could go right or wrong. Whatever the outcome, I guarantee that it will be worthwhile to learn and grow personally and professionally that you won’t experience in any other job.  Second, surround yourself with the right people from the start; partners and the initial team are key to success. And finally, make quick decisions, learn from mistakes and keep iterating. At DRUO we value fast learning and agile execution.